right now on "andrea mitchell reports," a powerful storm paralyzes the northeast, making travel treacherous. interstates are shut down. at this hour more than 700,000 people are without power. and speaking about people without power, after a storm of scandal, largely unearthed by "the new york times," nbc news confirms new york governor david paterson is likely to announce

shortly he will not run for election. an expected governor's run by high-profile new york attorney general andrew cuomo for the office once held by his father. stalemate in washington. no agreement from the summit, how does the administration plan to ram through its legislation? ceo of seaworld will talk about what happened in that deadly attack and what changes will be made at seaworld parks around the nation. live in philadelphia, today, one of the cities in the path of this winter storm. travelers are stuck at airports, waiting for flights. more than 1,000 flights alone have been canceled at new york airports. powerful wind gusts have been reached up to 90 miles an hour off the coast of maine. the weather channel's chris warren is live in doylestown, pennsylvania, 40 miles north of

here. chris, good to talk to you. you're having a rough day out there. >> reporter: you know, it's actually not too bad. the sun has come out now. we have blue sky. and this has really been the exception for what has gone on around the region and to the north. it has been really bad. we had the heavy, heavy snow, talking record snow in central park, more than 17 inches. so, we are still seeing the threat for more of this snow throughout some spots in the northeast. mainly, unfortunately, the areas that got hardest hit by this have the best chance of picking up more snow. fortunately, the good side, places like where we are right here, north of philadelphia, that have been hit so hard this year, are catching a bit of a break. as we are making our way into the rest of the weekend, we might see a couple of inches. this was a short-lived storm for what we are here. yesterday at this time the streets looked like this. only difference is that this snow wasn't here. this has been plowed and in many areas we're seeing conditions

return to normal. the storm is still slow to work out of here. it is slowly going to go back out to sea. before it does, we're dealing with gusty winds in some areas, and areas that have been hit already hard could see more snow as well. >> thank you so much. good luck out there. and nbc confirms that new york governor david paterson is ending his election bid. presumably, ending his political career. we confirmed that he will be making an announcement this afternoon, as early as 3:00 eastern. all this comes amid allegations that the governor personally contacted a woman who was pursuing domestic violence charges against one of the governor's top aides. right now, no word if the governor will remain in office through his term. with us now, nbc news white house correspondent and co-host of "the daily rundown," savannah guthrie, susan paige and anne kornblut, author of "notes from the cracked ceiling" and reporter for "the washington

post." do you think he'll resign, susan, and should he resign? >> i don't know if he is going to resign or not. he has been pretty much undercut as an effective governor of new york after this extraordinary -- he was planning to be lieutenant governor. eliot spitzer resigned, he was thrust into this job, has had a very difficult time, even apart from these allegations of scandal. i think it would not be a surprise if he decided to step down, and have unelected lieutenant governor take over that governorship. extraordinary developments in new york. >> looking at the governor in happier days. savannah, this is a really dramatic political step. we've seen story after story in the new york tabloids, but "the new york times" has a series of stories that the governor tried to push back against. he was recently -- last week, he was on our program -- earlier this week. it seems like a long time ago.

this is what he had to say about all the allegations piled up against him. >> because everybody is going to be unhappy when the person has to make the tough decisions in government and in families. and the only time when you find out whether these decisions were necessary or how much you realize that they may have had to have been made is when there's a review. and the review is an election. >> how do you counteract those who say that you contributed to your own unpopularity with your management style, being missing in action, the whole "new york times" investigation into the way you've run your office and dealt with all the -- >> if any of those types of stories have ever been substantiated by a fact or source, i would answer them, but they're not. i don't know why they would report that, but that is part of the obstacle that i'm facing, which is challenging.

unsubstantiated allegations any elected official has had to go through in a long period of time but that is what you sign up for when you sign up for public service. >> i guess that's what you sign up for, but that was only monday, saviana and now apparently he is going to say he's not going to seek the election at any rate. >> right. and he announced his re-election bid last week. this was a short campaign. what's interesting about this, this is somebody who has been very defiant, has withstood lots of calls for his resignation to not run for re-election, pressure from no less than the white house himself saying step aside. we really wish you wouldn't run, because he was so severely weakened. the fact that he has now made this calculation that it's in his best interest not to run for re-election, i think, shows how bleak the situation is, considering that this is somebody who largely has been impervious to all those political pressures.

>> what is the fallout from this, anne and what about andrew cuomo? his father, mario cuomo had a heralded career as governor. he has been waiting in the background waiting for this to unravel, obviously knowing it was not going well for the governor and i expect he will be announ announcing. >> reporter: lying in the background, i guess, but in a sense the front-runner, even if paterson had not decided to step aside, it looked like cuomo was on his way to beating him. that was a primary no one wanted, the white house, and democratic officials didn't want to have it. he will be more popular as democrats breathe a sigh of relief in watching paterson step aside. i think what saviana said about his defines is exactly right. it will be interesting to hear his tone and hear what reasons he gives, to see whether he feels he has been hounded out or whether he will have any sense of contrition that he did

something wrong and contributed to the problem or not. it will be an exciting press announcement when he makes it. >> hardly a sympathetic character at this point, given not just the drip, drip, drip of torr torrent of stories about alleged mismanagement, misbehavior and scandal in his administration. >> that's right. his approval rating in new york state has been in the mid 30s. that's really low for an incumbent who hopes to win re-election. i tell you, there's one new york democrat who was very pleased beyond andrew cuomo, i think that's charlie rangel, some democratic members of congress calling for him to give up his chairmanship and that has been overshadowed by this spectacle involving the governor. >> the best possible timing for rangel. nancy pelosi has already come to

his deference as have other top members, ways and means committee, other members of the congressional black caucus. he seems to be bulletproof. >> i'm not sure about that, andrea. we've got more strikes to go. ethics committee is considering other allegations against him. this is an election year where democrats who are very worried about what's going to happen in november are going to be concerned about not taking action in a situation that involves misdeeds by a democratic chairman of a powerful house committee. i don't think the story is over yet. >> savannah, let me ask you about the story we're still talking about from yesterday. the health care summit at blair house. now that the president and the democrats have invited the republicans in and made the show of having a dialogue, obviously no agreement came out of this. now what's plan b? >> reporter: i think if you ask folks on the hill, there's one option and one option alone.

that's to have the house pass the senate bill, the one that passed on christmas eve, as it is and as near simultaneously as they can, have the senate pass so-called fixes, narrow set of adjustments that would appease the house through reconciliation. that's that budget process by which only a simple majority vote is needed. there have been talk, and frankly there's still some talk at white house about could we get some kind of scaled-down bill with ten reforms you could get broad agreement on? folks on the hill do not look at that as a particularly easy thing to do. if you ask them, they will say there's one shot left. it's reconciliation. the president may be saying we'll do it at a month or six weeks. they don't want to wait that long on the hill. they want to get this over with. >> all right. if you'll all stand by, we're going to go to seaworld in florida where a news conference is about to begin on that terrible death. >> our deepest sympathy's to dawn's family.

this has been an extraordinarily difficult time for all of us here at seaworld, but the grief we're experiencing cannot compare to that of dawn's family. our thoughts and prayers are with her husband, scott, and all those closest to her. i would like to begin by announcing that we are in the process of creating, with dawn's family, the dawn brancheau memorial charitable foundation, a trust to support the causes she was so passionate about. we will give you details on this trust after today's event. i'll speak briefly today, providing details of our preliminary signings of wednesday's incident and the immediate alterations we made in our interaction with tilikum. in light of the press coverage the past two days it's important i again stress we provide the highest standard of care and no animal is ever subject to punishment in any form. tilikum is no exception. i'll also address the review of our interaction programs that

will be conducted not just by animal experts at sea world but by some of the most respected marine mammal experts in the world. update on the killer whale presentations at our seaworld parks. all direct interactions with these animals was suspended immediately after the incident on wednesday in all three seaworld parks, all show and most interactions and our dining program. we will resume performances of our killer whale show tomorrow at seaworld parks in orlando, san diego and san antonio, but our trainers will not enter the water. our dining programs will likely resume early next week. we have initiated a thorough review of all the procedures that guide our interaction with killer whales and we have reached out to several colleagues from other marine mammal facilities to take part in our review. they are dr. jay sweeney from dolphin quest, bill hurley from the georgia aquarium, cheryl messenger from the dolphin

connection, from marine land niagara false, miami sea aquarium and mark vitko from the united states navy. we will make contact information for these professionals available to you this afternoon. the findings of this group and changes of interaction procedures will be made public in due course. we will only resume in-water interactions with killer whales after the review is complete and we have implemented any changes in procedure we feel will assure the safety of our training staff. i would like to end with a request from dawn's family. i will read a statement that they gave us yesterday. and i urnl all of our friends here in the media to respect their privacy and show sensitivity to them during this very, very difficult time. you have all heard what an amazing trainer dawn brancheau was. and it's true, she was the best. it came naturally to her. being a trainer was a live-long

dream she achieved and she loved the animals. for her husband, family and friends, dawn was so much more. a compassionate, loving person who lived life to the fullest. she touched so many lives. those who knew and loved her have suffered a tremendous loss. one so unexpected that it is extremely difficult to even process or comprehend at this time. our family sincerely appreciates everyone's prayers and compassionate thoughts for dawn and her husband and family. while we understand that this tragic event is capturing headlines across the country, at this time, our family needs space and privacy to absorb our loss. we sincerely hope that the media will honor and respect this request. the family has made funeral arrangements to be held sunday and monday in chicago. the family is preparing a memorial service to be held in orlando at a later date. thank you.

thank you all for your attention. let me introduce the members of our team who are here with us today. then we'll take a few questions. joining me, chief zoological officer, and trainer chuck tomkins and to his right, the three parks in orlando. jason, how about you? [ inaudible question ] >> tilikum is an extraordinary animal, a very large animal. we have the highest standards of safety and protocols we put in place. obviously, those are being revisited at this time. we've had 46 years of success of those protocols and we're very confident up until this occasion. so, jason, he is an important part of our team and we're reviewing everything that we do related to handling him and our other whales and we'll move forward. yes, sir? [ inaudible question ]

>> let me be very clear about how we care for tilikum. t. ilikum is an important part of our facility here. comprised of the whales and trainers. tilikum interacts with both. is he not separated in any fashion, the whole social network of this facility, including the other killer whales and trainers. he is never separated. as for the -- our operation as a

park, we have created an extraordinary opportunity for people to get an upclose, personal experience, to be inspired and connect with marine life in a way they cannot do anywhere else in the world. for that, be we will make no apologies. this is something that's been very important to us and core to us, educate people and in some small measure help them care for the world we share. i'm going to move on. let me get to another question. we're taking one question at a time. >> i have a question. there was video right before. [ inaudible question ] >> this incident is a terrible, terrible incident for us. i knew dawn very well personally. dawn with his a fantastic

trainer. dawn was a wonderful person. she was amongst, perhaps, the most skilled trainers we have in our company. what we are doing is in the c context of this investigation, is looking at every piece of information we have. i'm aware there's all sorts of video surfacing, things that other people have captured. we'll be happy to look at those and will be included in the context of our investigation. we'll have to study all of that before we make any findings. yes, sir? >> is there anything you've found that the trainer may have violated protocol? >> far too early to get to that point. we're really still trying to collect information, trying to understand the whole nature and scope of the event so it would be premature. luke? >> witnesses say that tilikum grabbed the ponytail. >> the information we've obtained from the analysis so far does not involve tilikum grabbing her by the waist at all. it is our best analysis that he grabbed her ponytail.

let me move around be to the left. yes, sir? >> to clarify the end of your answer there, and i'll ask you a quick question. are you saying there is a written policy and can we have a copy of it, about what they are or are not to -- >> we absolutely have policies, protocols, procedures for how we manage and interact with our animals, how we train trainers. those are propriety documents and we don't share them publicly. insight from others that we've asked in the industry to join us, we will make those public in due course. >> my question then is, people appear to be entertained at the time of the shamu show when there's not somebody riding on the back. do you feel it's important for people to be in the water with them for them to be entertaining? >> you know, the very core of what we deliver at this park and the connections that people have with marine animals is having very special. it's something that only seaworld delivers.

we accomplish that through a number of ways, the spectacle of our shows and world-class exhibits are part of that. we'll review everything we do and how we deliver it. we ultimately very comfortable and confident with what we're providing and the education we're providing to people as well. yes, ma'am? [ inaudible question ] >> tilikum, we did -- tilikum joined our facility from a now defunct british columbia facility. there probably wasn't another facility in the world that could accommodate him. having said that, we have -- he has been part of our team, will remain part of our team and he is a very special animal that requires special handling. obviously the procedures we've had in place are something we're revisiting at this point.

yes, ma'am? [ inaudible question ] >> i can tell you, we have no policy that addresses hair length, per se. in the context of our ongoing analysis and policy, that's something we're going to revisit, obviously. that was not part of the incidence. >> is there any indication that that might be what it was, that the hair was shiny and -- >> i wouldn't begin to speculate what he was thinking, for obvious reasons. i will say we're evaluating every piece of information we can get and trying to get the best conclusions we can, to make

any necessary changes to our protocols to make sure both our animals and trainers have a safe environment. >> you had indicated, sir, that the shows will begin again tomorrow, albeit in a different form, trainers will not be in the water while this review goes on. do you anticipate this is going to be 30 days, 60 days? do you have any idea how long? and how significant changes might be made? >> i understand not everybody can hear the questions, so the question is, the shows that we'll be doing that don't involve water work, how long will we be conducting shows in that format? it's hard to say. we've been inviting others in in the industry to participate in this. we will take as long as it takes to get to the best conclusions we can possibly make to change any protocols that are necessary to change, get those introduced and so forth. so, i wouldn't begin to speculate at this point how long

that will be, but we are moving at due course. >> are you certain changes will be made? >> i am certain we will have some changes, absolutely. at the end of the day, this is a terrible incident, as i mentioned earlier, i knew dawn very well, very well personally. she was an amazing, dynamic woman and very talented trainer. the fact that this incident occurred for the first time in our 46-year history and with such a talented individual, absolutely, we have to look at everything we do. yes, ma'am? >> the first time in 46 years it's ever happened, nobody can say what happened at the time. how can you definitively say today is the day they go back in the water? >> that's a judgment call. and that judgment is something that we have the responsibility to get through. what i'll say is we have great experience in this field. we obviously had a problem and we are now trying to revisit

that and have invited others to give fresh eye s to this. we have a wealth of experience on how to train marine animals, obviously, more than anyone in the world. if we get new eyes on this, we' we're hoping we may find something we missed. yes, sir? [ inaudible question ] >> i think that would be a shame. this is a -- really a wonderful animal. and him -- his participation in our shows, his engagement in our interactions and so forth, is very important to his overall health and husbandry. he will remain an interactive member of the team. >> despite what's happened ? >> despite what's happened, yes, sir. [ inaudible question ] >> our seaworld family is a close-knit group, probably much more so than any of you realize. these trainers are reeling.

they've lost not a co-worker but member of their family. they are reeling from that, as i said. they are like all of us in the seaworld team, dealing with a host of emotions associated with losing a loved one. at the end of the day they'll be key participants in our analysis of what we do moving forward. it has to be -- training procedures and protocols and systems that they are comfortable with. they will be an integral part of that. >> have any of them indicated they won't work with tilikum anymore? >> no. >> have any of them quit? >> no. >> sir? how about the in the back here? >> will there be any part of tomorrow's show that will be a tribute to dawn and will there be an announcement to the public of why they're making the change? >> yes, there will. we are currently editing a piece to include the in the context of that show and that will be part of the show tomorrow. first show tomorrow is at 11:00. yes, sir? >> on the whole matter of judgment call, look, 48 years of

c captivity of killer whales, four deaths. >> i need to correct you. we don't have four deaths in our company. >> it's my understanding four deaths. >> that is not true. >> how many deaths is it, then? >> we have had, in our system, we have had -- this terrible incident that occurred the other day and unfortunately in 1999 we had somebody who snuck into the park and jumped into the same pool. that's what's occurred in our system. >> but there have been three deaths that have been tied to this whale? >> realize the wail was at another facility before it joined us. >> but i'm saying -- >> if you can get to your question, i'll try to answer it. >> we've had two incidents, the whale has been involved in three deaths. how do you explain the combination of circumstances that all lead back to the same whale and the judgment call to put people back in the water with this whale? >> what i'll say is the events surrounding the other incidents that tilikum were part of are

quite ordinary. >> their shows tomorrow, suspending all in-water direct interaction with the killer whales until they can review their policies. he said he would make no apology for their programs, that tilikum, the whale involved in this horrendous tragedy, tilikum has not been separated from the other whales and will remain, quote, a close member of the team. he also read a statement from the family of 40-year-old dawn brancheau, saying there would be a funeral in chicago and memorial service later in orlando and saying there is no policy on hair length after indications that the killer whale may have pulled her in by her ponytail. at t as the news conference continues, we'll be right back. low in fat and cholesterol, heart healthy levels of sodium, and taste you'll love. guy: mmmm! chef: we're kind of excited about it. announcer: campbell's healthy request.

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than 50 inches of snow this season. latest storm predicting record snowfall. rehema ellis is live in central park. rehema, our thoughts are with you today. we did survive all of this in washington and now it's your turn. we'll be getting right back to rehema ellis. the camera equipment is also affected by the terrible weather. we'll get right back to that in a moment. first, speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, and other top democrats are rounding around embattled charlie rangel. >> i think every member is entitled to have his day before the ethics committee. they have said he did not knowingly violate the rules. again, this were the end of it, that were one thing. there obviously is more to come

and we'll see what happens with that. >> politico's jonathan allen joins us now. jonathan, what is the outlook for charlie rangel? first of all, this ethics investigation but there are still more yet to come. >> reporter: this may just be the tip of the iceberg. ethics committee found he was in violation of house rules governing gifts because he went on a corporate-funded trip. they said he didn't know about it necessarily, but his staff certainly did. and by virtue of that, he was admonished. but there are several other things laying in wait. the ethics committee is looking at issues, including not reporting income from a villa in the dominican republic and treatment of rented arps in new york, which he has several of. there's a lot maybe still to come from the ethics committee. >> charlie rangel, in response, is blaming his staff. he said, quote, common sense dictate that is members of congress could not be held responsible for errors of staff

unless there's reasons to believe the member knew or should have known and there's nothing in the record to indicate the latter. how does that go over, blaming the staff? >> reporter: it's interesting. the ethics committee is essentially saying that charlie rangel is responsible for the things his staff did, even if he wasn't aware of what they were doing, presenting a memo to get approval for this trip and providing misleading information to the ethics committee. they're saying charlie rangel is responsible for that. council for ethic committee was also admonished, former counsel and the ethics committee members aren't being held responsible. it's interesting. and i'm sure there's a backstory here that may come out over time as to why mr. rangel is being held responsible for his staff work when other members are not. >> to be continued. this is only, as you point out, the first shot. thank you so much, jonathan. >> reporter: take care, andrea. bipartisanship talk ahead of

the president's health care summit appears to be just that, talk. the president says he expects democrats to pass this bill by themselves if necessary. john mccain says that's a mistake. >> there are areas we can agree on. to go to the 51 votes instead of this traditional 60 in the united states senate will have cataclysmic effects. >> with us now, bob shrum and political analyst pat buchanan. s shrum, first to you, cataclysmicesque, do you think that will be the effect of going through reconciliation of trying to ram something through? should democrats back off or should they proceed? >> they should proceed and will proceed. to hear john mccain, voted for major changes in american life going back through reagan tax cuts through recognize sill krags talks about this as some kind of violation of what ought to be a dominant rule is absurd. republicans understand that if they stop obama on this, they're

going to neuter this presidency and reduce it to a custodial presidency of bite-sized changes. that's what you heard them recommending yesterday. let's go back to the drawing boards. start all over. we believe in national health reform. no, they don't. the president is going to move ahead. i think congress will move ahead. house democrats have to stop sitting on the prerogative and pass the senate bill and fix this in reconciliation. >> the president wants this by easter. the senate is trying to get it through. if this keeps dragging on, though, this will dominate this entire presidency. they can't seem to get out from under it. >> i do think the president and the speaker and reid will have to finish by easter. republicans will set their feet in concrete. they're not going forward to use that huge bill in the senate and the house bill. they're not going to use that as the basis. i think we're going to war here. i do think democrats have a

chance of passing it with a 50 plus one in the senate and maybe even in the house. i will tell you this, andrea. this is going to be a real blood bath. conservatives and republicans and tea party types will rally their troops. they will try every tactic they can to stop it in the senate because they believe, correctly, that there's a bipartisan majority in the nation that is against the bill and even in the house, pelosi couldn't get it through because there's a bipartisan majority against it. this is going to be a war approximate and this will affect the entire obama presidency. any idea of bipartisanship is pretty much dead from now on. >> bob shrum, what about the fact that the house and the senate are as divided as democrats and republicans are, will pelosi be able to persuade the house members to go ahead and vote for something on the assurance that the senate will fix it later on down the road or is there -- are they so gun shy now after the votes they've already taken? >> one thing i've never understood about this argument is once you pass the senate

bill, the house passes the senate bill, the president signs it, the house has all the power in the reconciliation process. what are those people in the senate going to do, refuse to modify the tax on health insurance policy? they're not going to pay that political price. people understand, democrats now understand that bipartisanship is gone. it was probably never there. pat is right about that. number two, they need to move on this. they need to get it done, prove they can govern the country and go on to other issues. by the way, pat, you're wrong about one thing. when "the washington post" poll broke down major elements of the bill, there was majority support for virtually every one of them and the bill itself was a tie statistically. >> well, look, let me tell you -- >> stop ronald reagan. ronald reagan would have said i believe in this, let's move it. you guys moved it and we have to do it. >> pat? >> start believing in your own propaganda. >> no, that was a poll from "the

washington post." >> 60 votes in the senate and 80 plus in the house mantle and you had the country with you and you had all these months and reid could have gotten it through in september, i agree. the longer it went on, the more people voted against it until finally you lost ted kennedy's seat in massachusetts because the guy said i'm going to kill it and barack obama -- >> that's untrue. that's not won the seat. >> instead of -- bob and pat, instead of refighting the massachusetts election, let's talk about something that you can both agree on. should david paterson get out of office and how quickly should he slam the door behind him? bob? >> he certainly is not going to run for re-election. that's the right decision. they can take all those old governor cuomo signs out of the closet, dust them off and put them on the doors because he's going to be the next governor of new york. and the republican who ran against hillary clinton in 2000 who is running for governor would probably start thinking now about maybe another senate run against kristin gillibrand

because he never is going to beat andrew cuomo. the new york governor has a lot of problems, very competent lieutenant governor who i think people would welcome as a caretaker. >> pat, what about the fact that cuomo, i think it was 64-22 over -- between cuomo and the current governor, governor paterson in the siena poll. he is dominating the field, cuomo. >> no doubt cuomo would be the nominee. he did not want to run against paterson. so, he didn't want to do this. this is a gold mine for cuomo and i do believe he will be the next governor. let me say this. if i were paterson, do not resign. aide that probably did a bad thing. i do not see that bazel paterson -- >> talking about the son, david paterson. >> david paterson, the son. i don't think he did anything to

justify resignation from office. people, including obama and others didn't want him to run again, fine. that's taken care of of. he ought not resign over this. any more than charlie rangel should resign over this ethics violation, which looks to me to be someone suspect. if you've done something terribly wrong, fine. i don't see that mr. paterson, the governor, has done that as of yet. >> george w. bush, the bush white house reunion and the former president going to visit dick cheney and defending dick cheney during those meetings, according to the people reporting out of them. >> well, i think that dick ch cheney -- look, dick cheney has had four, five, six heart attacks? five, i guess. he is out defending what he believes is the right policy. he has been consistent. i disagreed with him when he started. i do believe he has a right to defend it and do believe he is doing the right thing defending it. and i do believe george bush,

who, after all, adopted that policy, you have an obligation to defend it. they have every right to do what the vice president was doing. >> pat was right when he was on the other side. the fact is there were no weapons of mass destruction. we're in a war that, by the time it's over in iraq, will cost us $2 trillion. more responsible for the deficit than anything else. quite frankly, i think dick cheney is a bad face for the republican party. so i hope he's out there all the time, talking, defending the record and saying this is what it means to be a republican. i think that helps democrats. >> our party is doing pretty well lately, though. >> pat, they don't hold the elections in march, pat. they do it in november. >> i know. can't wait for november. >> you've been waiting for a lot of novembers recently. >> talk about it again next week. bob shrum and pat buchanan in washington, thank you very much. coming up, who are the most liberal and conservative members

right now in congress? and what's the significance of all that, especially now in washington? "the national journal" tallies the votes and joins us with their exclusive list next only on "an dree wra mitchell reports." only alka-seltzer relieves your upset stomach, heartburn, indigestion and headache... so you're good to go in the morning. you're late. alka-seltzer brings you back. [ male announcer ] say hello to the can-doers. ♪ the budget masters. the knockout artists who are finding more ways to spread their dollar further. to bolder color in less time. say hello to newer ideas and lowered prices, enabling more people... to turn more saving into more doing. that's the power of the home depot. try behr premium plus ultra, it's paint and primer all in one, and rated number one.

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president obama's health care summit may actually cause among republicans because of the deepen dividing on capitol hill. poll on new ratings of the most liberal and conservative lawmakers. rich cohen with the national journal and other own nbc news capitol hill correspondent, kelly o'donnell. rich, let's go through the ratings. you looked at the liberals and conservatives, house and senate. who are some of the cast of characters that you're looking at here, when you talk about the most liberal members of the senate, and the most conservative? you've got a five-way tie in the senate for liberals. i'm looking here. you've got sherrod brown, roland

burris, ben cardin, reed and whitehouse. and on the conservative side you've got inhofe, demint, bunning, coburn and risch. how does this play out when it comes to the two sides to come together on big issues? >> identifying the most liberal and the most conservative is interesting, and we've done these national journal ratings for almost 30 years now, sometimes they generate controversy. for example, when we found john kerry one year was the most liberal, and he was running for president and a couple of years later, barack obama, then senator, was the most liberal in the senate and we got some feedback on that. frankly, from our point of view, more interesting in terms of the state of play within the senate and the separatings we do in the house is to look at who is in the center of each chamber.

those members who are in play, whose votes are up for grabs rather than those who are liberal or conservative. >> fewer members in the center. kelly, you watch this every day, you have observed this weekend where the unemployment, long-term unemployment compensation is going to expire by sunday night and jim bunning from kentucky, who is not seeking re-election, one person stood up in the senate and put a hold on that. and so all those jobless benefits are expiring for people. and there's nothing that the republican on or democratic leadership, who worked out a deal on this, could do to change his mind. >> we were all focuseded on the summit yesterday and this drama was happening and really was not noticed until today. jim bunning is sort of a free man, and he is not running for re-election. he took this chance. doesn't mind taking the heat on standing up. his issue is not that the benefits should not be extended but they must be paid for. and he was upset that the legislation doesn't call for

that. the fix the democrats want, they believe it's such an urgent need, it has to be done and extended right away, which, of course, was politically popular, especially for democrats. bunning was taking the fiscal conservative view and that one voice of jim bunning was able to grind this to a halt. they promise they're going to fix this but under the rules -- that's where the rules become so important, not just the archean history of the senate but how it's played out and makes a difference day-to-day. procedure known as reconciliation, a fast track that might take health care across the finish line, we talk about that. something like being able to object to what would have been a unanimous consent vote, that is really powerful. as you certainly know, these "national journal" rankings are sometimes a badge of honor used as a bludgeon, depending on your perspective. >> talking about the shrinking middle, how does that affect getting things done? >> if you're the democratic

leaders in congress, it means -- speaker pelosi in the house and majority leader reid in the s senate, they want some bipartisan support, republicans lining up, but our vote ratings show there are very few republicans in either chamber that can be relied on to even think about voting with democrats on legislation. that has forced ratings to show now for 2009, the result is that democrats have really passed most key bills, most of the top bills have been on a party line basis. one other point, particularly relevant now that we're in an election year, 2010, some of these democrats who are from more swing districts, swing states, they are toward the middle and even toward the conservative end of the democratic party in part because they're worried about

re-election and their constituency and they -- some of them believe that they must show some separation from the democratic leadership, from president obama if they want to get re-elected. >> we're already beginning to see that happen. thank you so much, rich combs from "the national journal" and kelly o'donnell, thanks to you. up next, we'll go live to vancouver. there is a new queen in figure skating. plus, controversy for canada's women's hockey team. after their gold finish, what did they do next? join me at andr dree with patented technology that heals cuts two days faster than store brands. neosporin®. heals faster than store brands. where all your cat's favorite flavors, including real carnation milk, come alive. friskies feline favorites.

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heading into the final few days of the olympics, the u.s. hold as commanding lead in terms of medals. they have a good shot of winning more today. we have alan abrams live from vancouver. i know you are out there with the sea planes behind you, but

let's talk about the ice skating lastz night. i could not turn off the set and go to sleep. it was just amazing. >> yeah. i have been covering the olympics full time for 12 years. i have to say, without question, it was the most riveting and exciting night you could ever see. the scoring system that was instituted after slaxz in 2002 was used to promote athleticism. when you can bring what kim did and see what the scoring system is supposed to do, she's the only one in the world who can do it. she's in a league by herself. it's fantastic to watch. >> that and the emotion of the other skaters, watching rochette and what she pulled herself through to accomplish. it was an extraordinary night. let's talk about the canadian

winners. how did they celebrate, again? >> well, you know, it's like every parent says to his or her children, it's not just what you do, it's when you do it. it's one thing to have a party, it's another at center ice, another with beer and champagne when the laws say you can only brink at a certain age. are those canadian beers? they look like coors light. it looks like a blue can. i don't know. >> i'm not that familiar with beer, of course. but, what about today. what do we look forward to today? >> of course, the big skate is in the short track where apolo ohno is going for two more medals. one is in the 500. the other is in the 5,000 relay. that would give him nine for his

career. nobody in the winter olympics has done such a thing. lindsey vonn skis. it's not her best event. it's lindsey, anything is possible. >> what are you hearing about the closing ceremony? we are looking forward to sunday night. >> fun, friendly, canadian. >> alan, nbc news sports contributor. thank you very much. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." monday, mississippi governor, chairman of the association will be with us. we continue to follow the massive storm. flights grounded. schools closed. half a million people without power. when your eyes are smiling... you're smiling. and when they're laughing... you're laughing.

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